Let’s create more happy, healthy humans
Building resilience, self-worth, relationships, self care and hope and optimism in school children.
“When I get stressed it feels like a storm in my head. It’s heavy and I can’t think. It makes me angry and upset.”
Sam, aged 9
Quotes like this will not come as a surprise to schools or teachers across the county.
Data shows that the incidences of school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs are increasing and with services stretched, schools are shouldering the burden.
But tools are available to help teach pupils the skills they need to cope with the demands of modern life.
What is a stormbreak?
Movement and learning
Stormbreaks are short movement activities. They help
children move their bodies and learn essential life skills
at the same time.
Quick and easy
Woven into the school day, stormbreaks improve the physical and
mental health and wellbeing of pupils.
Builds life skills
Activities feature the concepts of resilience, self-care,
relationships, self worth and hope and optimism.
Affordable
Leap co-invested in Stormbreak with Buckinghamshire Public Health
to subsidise the cost of the programme for 8 pilot schools across
Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Primary Premium funding can be
used to off set remaining cost.
Pilot schools
Having experienced an increase in mental health issues, staff saw stormbreak as
an effective way to enhance pastoral care for all pupils. They used Pupil Premium
Funding to help cover the remaining cost of the programme. In 2024, eight Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Schools embedded stormbreak in their daily routines with positive outcomes reported so far:
- Teachers report feeling confident to deliver sessions
and the children were willing to get involved. - All participating schools agreed that stormbreak
supported classroom management and a positive
learning environment.
Spotlight on Winslow C of E School
- Lead teacher attended initial stormbreak training and cascaded training to other teachers and pastoral support staff.
- Teachers choose from a range of online videos with different themes.
- Teachers report high engagement when they join in and model the activities vs just
playing the video. - Introduced with year 1 and plan to take it with that cohort all the way through the
school to assess longer term impact. - Teachers reported higher engagement when they join in and model the activities vs just
playing the video. - Children need to repeat the stormbreaks and revisit the language in discussions to gain a
deeper understanding, but stormbreak provides a great conversation starter too.
“My class love stormbreak.
I’d recommend stormbreak
to other schools, especially if
it is part-funded by Leap!
The stormbreak team have
been so good and
supportive and you’ll see the
benefits. Our experience has
been really positive.”Teacher at Winslow C of E School
Integrate movement and life skills into your school with stormbreak
Contact Mark Stokes for more information. mstokes@leapwithus.org.uk